This list of compiled of recommendations I received on Twitter during this year #rombklove event. I have grouped together romances featuring sports that are not very popular and some rather popular in real life but conspicuously missing from romance novels.

My personal recommendations for romance romances presenting less popular sports or offering an unusual take on a popular sport, are listed in this earlier post.

Note 1: The inclusion of books/authors on the list here is not an endorsement on my part unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Note 2: The titles link to the Goodreads page for the book. The Amazon links are affiliate.

Water sports 

Level Hands / Love Me Like a Rock / Hard Candy by Amy Jo Cousins, m/m romances, rowing. Amazon - Read and Loved

Stroke to His Cox, m/m romance short story by JL Merrow, rowing. Amazon

Swift River series by Kristina Mathews, whitewater raft guides. Amazon

Wavehouse by Alice Kaltman, YA, surfing. Amazon

Hot Holiday Nights by Jaci Burton, m/f romance, surfing. Amazon

Pacific Blue series by Lorelie Brown, m/f romance, surfing. Amazon

Sparks Like Ours by Melissa Brayden, f/f romance, surfing. Amazon



Renegades series by Rebecca Yarros, m/f romances with X Games athletes. Amazon

Lessons in Gravity and Leaving Everest by Megan Westfield, m/f romances, rock climbing. Amazon

Gravity series by Sarina Bowen, skiers/snowboarders. Amazon - Read and enjoyed

Heartstruck by Angeli E. Dumatol. Arnis (Filipino martial art), YA contemporary m/f. Both MC and LI train and compete in the sport. Amazon



A Fighting Chance by Shannon Stacey (novella). Amazon

Knock Out by Michele Mannon, m/m contemporary. Amazon

Dirty Boxing by Harper St George and Tara Waytt, m/f erotic romance, MMA.  Amazon

Showing Him the Ropes by Christa Tomlinson (m/m professional wrestling). Amazon

The Secret Heart by Erin Satie. This historical has a hero that is a bare-knuckle boxer. Amazon (It's free at the time of posting)

Submission Moves by Camilla Sisco is set in the US with an MMA fighter for a hero. Amazon

Below the Belt by Sarah Mayberry, m/f romance, heroine is a boxer. Amazon

Making Him Sweat, Taking Him Down, Driving Her Wild by by Cara McKenna writing as Meg Maguire about boxers. Amazon 

Willing Victim by Cara McKenna, m/f romance, hero is an MMA fighter. Amazon

Bad Neighbor by Molly O'Keefe, m/f romance. Amazon - Read and enjoyed

In Her Corner by Vicki Essex, m/f romance with MMA fighter heroine and her coach is the hero. Amazon

Memphis by Ginger Scott's is about a boxer who trains at the heroine's dad's gym. Amazon

Champion’s Heart by Piper Huguley is a Great Depression Era historical romance with black characters, including a boxer hero. Amazon

Love on the Run by Zuri Day, female track and field Olympic & collegiate athlete and  male sports management agent. Amazon

Winning Ruby Heart by Jennifer Lohmann. Heroine is a disgraced Olympic athlete who takes up running ultra marathons. Amazon

Love at First Run by Angel C. Aquino, m/f romance, #romanceclass. Amazon

The University of Gatica series by Lexy Timms, track and field heroines. Amazon (Free at the time of posting)

There's Something About Sweetie by Sandyha Menon. Sweetie is a fat girl who runs track, her LI Ashish plays basketball. Amazon

Fast Track series by Erin McCarthy, m/f romances, MCs are NASCAR drivers. Amazon

Ride with Me by Ruthie Knox m/f romance about a long distance cyclist. Amazon - currently not available for purchase

Holeshot by M.A. Parker, m/f romance, motocross. Amazon

Cat by Freya North about a sports reporter covering Le Tour de France. Amazon - only used copies

Hard Driving series by Audra North, race car drivers. Amazon



Clang by E. Davies, m/m contemporary romance. Amazon

The Master Will Appear by L.A. Witt, m/m romance. Amazon

Introducing Mr. Winterbourn by Joanna Chambers, m/m historical romance, both MCs are fencers. Amazon

Lord Carew's Bride by Mary Balogh, m/f historical romance. Amazon - only used copies available

Heart Duel by Robin D. Owens, m/f paranormal romance. Amazon

A Rational Arrangement by L. Rowyn, fantasy polyamory mmf romance. Amazon



Game of Love by Ara Gregorian, m/f romance. Amazon

After Wimbledon by Jennifer Gilby Roberts, m/f romance . Amazon

Courting Carlyn by Melissa Chambers, m/f romance. Amazon



Once Upon a Player by Agay Llanera, m/f romance, college volleyball. Amazon

Playing with Seduction by Reese Ryan, heroine is a volleyball player. Amazon

The Cowboy Meets His Match by Sarah Mayberry, which features a female saddle bronc rider.  Amazon

Act Your Age by Eve Dangerfied. The heroine’s on a roller derby team. Amazon

Pride, Prejudice, and Curling Rocks by Andrea Brokaw, YA retelling of Pride and Prejudice, curling. Amazon

Settle the Score / Hustle Play by Tara Frejas is a duology of two short stories featuring a female basketball player & a male cheer squad member. Amazon

Settling the Score by R.S. Gray, m/f romance, heroine is a football player, hero is a swimmer adn they meet at the summer Olympics. Amazon

Romancing the Kicker by Catherine Lane, f/f romance about the first female kicker in NFL. Amazon

Unusual Sports Romances

When Ana Coqui invited me to join #rombklove 2019 I agreed with no hesitation. This online event has brought me so much joy over the past few years and has put so many books on my radar and I am excited to contribute to it.

It took me a while to come up with a topic though – I already did Beta Heroes, and Families last year. I decided to go with sports romances this year because I want to highlight romances that feature rare/not very popular sports on the one hand but also on the other, romances which deal with widely popular sports (hockey,football, etc) but in a new/unusual light.

I will start with the second group – romances featuring popular sports but focusing on other things besides the billionaire/celebrity aspects of the sport.

One such series is the Atlanta Skyline series of football romances by Rebecca Crowley. While book 1, Crossing Hearts, is an inclusive romance with Latino MCs, it’s in many ways a typical sports romance.

The next two novels and a novella take a somewhat different direction – there is the fame and fortune (not so much in the novella) but the focus is on other things – performing under pressure, making plans for life after football, we have characters moving on with their lives after professional sports.

Book 2, Defending Hearts, explores the darker aspects of fame - the hero is a Muslim player who had become a victim of a hate-crime that throws his carefully planned life off balance.

The heroine in book 3, Saving Hearts, is a former professional female footballer who stayed in the sport as an administrator. Her character highlights a whole other set of issues – female football getting less recognition and respectively funding/popularity. The hero is a goal-keeper on the bring of retirement planning his future away from the sport.

Still with the theme of football romances, I want to mention the Glasgow Lads series by Avery Cockburn. These m/m romances features MCs playing a gay Scottish football club. The books explore different issues from politics to the lives of the aristocracy in the present-day, overall I highly recommend them.

Another popular sports that features prominently in romance is hockey and a favourite of mine in this group is Him and its sequel, Us by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen. Richly drawn stories with one gay MC and his best friend discovering he is bi. What I particularly like about this series is how their sports careers developed. Jamie who is a goal keeper in his college team, decides not to pursue a career in professional hockey but to take up coaching children instead. He still got to be involved in the sport he loves but made a choice that worked best for him regardless how it looked in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Another part hockey, part ice skating romance I want to highlight is Kiss and Cry by Mina V. Esguerra. The thing about this romance that neither of these sports is very popular in the Philippines. Neither of the MCs got the fame and fortune professional sports players in other parts of the world might get playing these sports. Yet, they were happy with what they did and were absolutely dedicated to their sports respectively.

Moving on to less popular sports, I want to mention a couple of romances. First one is Love on the Tracks by Tamsen Parker where a boyband frontman fall for a professional luger participating in the fictional equivalent of the Olympics. We get to see Rowan's dedication to her sport and how much she loves competing in it but also we get Zane who is utterly in awe of her physical strength and is proud of her success.

Still in the world of college hockey,  one of my favourite NA romance is The Year We Fell Down by Sarina Bowen. Both the heroine and hero are hockey fans and players but she is currently in a wheelchair after an incident on the ice and he has a broken leg. I liked how the story showed two sports people suffering through injury, in her case a permanent disability. And she stayed active, participated in some kind of water polo.

Just one more hockey romance, Hard Knocks by Ruby Lang. Enemies to lovers, heroine is a neurologist with family issues, hero is a hockey player, playing a mediocre team, tired of the game, trying to find his place outside hockey.

I’m always on the look out for historical romances with sports elements. There is a recent debut, Gilded Age historical, Anyone but the Earl by Irene Davis. Hero is a friend of the heroine;s brother and both a members of rowing club. I liked how this was presented in the story but it was just a hobby for them and I am looking for historicals where the MCs take up sports professionally.

A couple of sports romances on my TBR list:

Throwing Stones by Avery Cockburn which is a spin-off of her Glasgow Lads series and features..., wait for it, ... Curling :) I'm looking forward to reading not least of all because it features such an unusual sport.

Love in Straight Sets by Rebecca Crowley - m/f tennis romance. I quite like the writing of Rebecca Crowley and I hope this one will work for me too. Also female sports players are not that common as heroines in romance, so I'm looking forward to this one.

After the Gold by Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae - a figure skating m/f romance with a bi heroine with anxiety. This story seems to tick all the boxes of what I like to read in romance and I'm excited to try it soon. 

Title: Kiss and Cry (Six 32 Central Book 2)

Author: Mina V. Esguerra

Genre/Themes: Second chance romance, sports, Philippines 

Release date: 1 March 2019

Author’s links: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

My rating: 4 Stars

Blurb

Calinda met Ramirez when she was 20 and he was 22. She was the rising star of women's skating, and he was the superstar forward of men's hockey. Her parents and coach were against their relationship, and because Calinda wanted to prove that no hot guy would ever distract her from her dream, she chose skating over him — and also avoided him all together. 

Ten years later, they meet again as gold medalists and prominent sports advocates, still single and undeniably attracted to each other. It's still not a good time for them, because Ramirez is retiring from hockey and moving back to the United States. Calinda doesn't do relationships, really, and proposes they use his final three weeks in Manila to explore what might have been, and do all the things they wish they'd done (there's a list!). Then he can leave for good, and they can both move on with their lives without this one regret.

Review 

This is a nice, easy going, low conflict romance with some angst and lots of realistic talk about sports behind its glamourous facade. I loved that we a different aspect of professional sports, one where it’s like a day job – some fame and popularity on local level, but none of the huge wealth and celebrity. status. Both MCs love their sport despite it not being the most popular in their country and they are trying to a living out of it.

The story also gives us a lot of thoughts on leaving and staying, on living in two countries and not feeling truly at home in either. The story is very atmospheric, set in Manila, we see s much of life there - the food, the local customs and everything. At the same time we get enough glimpse of Ram’s life in the US to see how the immigrant experience shapes who he is.

It's a second chance love story where the MCs are in their 30s and get together in some sort of belated fight for independence, some sort of revenge, of taking back control over her life that was taken from them 10 years ago. In reality though, this is just the continuation of their love story that started all those years and they never stopped wanting to be together. 

It's deeply romantic but both acting very practical on the surface. I loved how neither of them wanted to force the other person to shape their whole life around you. I appreciate the open discussions of consent and the respect the MCs showed each other.

I felt the story lost some momentum around the middle but in the end it all worked well. I absolutely loved how simple and ordinary his grand gesture was, how fitting to both of them. Their love was not an easy solution of a difficult life situation. The practical difficulties of being together were not glossed over but rather discussed between the MCs and a solution was found that worked for both of them.

Light-hearted, yet with some unexpected depth, this is a lovely sports romance and I highly recommend it to everyone. 

Add to Goodreads / Buy on Amazon

Practice Makes Perfect

Patrick “Patch” Donnelly has what it takes to be the best goalie in the NHL…if only he could learn to control his temper. When Coach orders him to get his head in the game with private yoga classes, Patch isn’t having it. There’s no way this tough Boston guy would be caught dead downward dog-ing his way to inner peace. But if he refuses, he risks his starting position and the dream he sacrificed everything for, including joining the priesthood.

Yoga instructor Margot Kowalski is over men. After yet another toxic relationship, she’s eager to forget love and focus on growing her business. Doing the Hellions head coach a favor by helping out a troubled player can't hurt, and it might give her career a high-profile boost. But free-spirited Margot is soon charming the pants off Patch. Literally. Her sassy combination of sweet and sexy proves irresistible to the goalie. Before Patch can give into temptation though, he’ll have to confess his biggest secret:

He’s a virgin.

But Patch is hiding more than sexual inexperience, and his dark past soon threatens to destroy his shot at true love.

Review

This was my first time reading Lia Riley and I was drawn to the premise of a virgin hockey player getting together with a more experience woman. The story had a few laughs and while I liked bits of it, in the end this turned out to be a big disappointment.

Things started promising with a funny, smart heroine being all sex positive and taking no slut shaming from anyone. The hero was also rather intriguing from the start - a troubled hockey star goalie with anger management issues, too easily resorting to physical violence when challenged. And he was a virgin with no experience of intimacy with women, not even holding hands or kissing. Early on we get the reasons for this - a difficult childhood and family issues that were still haunting him.

It was after they met that things went downhill for me. She was a yoga instructor and he was referred to her as a way to get his anger under control. He went to her home for a yoga session for the first time and boom, insta-lust. Within minutes of meeting her, he was so smitten that he was ready to get intimate with her right away, after years of avoiding any physical contact with women. I just didn't buy it. They didn't really get to know each other, there was no courtship, no dealing with his issues with intimacy and anger, just instalust.

Then as can be expected our virgin hero turned out to be a natural at sex, giving her the best orgasms of her life. He was perfect in everything and his tendency towards violence was quickly resolved with the sheer power of true love.

It was a short read, too superficial and neither the characters, nor the conflict seemed fleshed out enough. It was all cliche after cliche - her evil ex (who couldn't get over the fact he wasn't her first lover, was bad in bed, never cared about her pleasure and turned aggressive and stalkerish after their break up and to top it all off, he turned to be involved in tax fraud).

I found the suspense plot too thin and far too easily resolved in the end. I felt all the good characters were too good to be true and all the bad ones were just comically bad. The characters lacked nuance which made it all too unrealistic for me to enjoy their story. I want my contemporary romances more rooted in reality. While I don't mind the dream/fantasy type of romance hero, I can't accept when serious issues are brought up and then brushed off to a quick resolution without giving them any depth.

I ended angry and disappointed in this story because I felt it had to potential to be something good but it was hastily written, predictable, lacking any depth and nuance. The few good jokes here and there and my overall appreciation of the hero was not enough to save it.

LOVE’S A CALCULATED RISK

Atlanta Skyline’s benched goalkeeper Brendan Young would have been happy to ride out the end of his contract after his gambling addiction was splashed all over the news media. Instead, his teammates’ injuries have unexpectedly put him back in the game. A new face in his weekly Gamblers Anonymous meeting provides another surprise spike — of pure attraction. Why is Erin Bailey, former world champion women’s soccer player, at this meeting? And why can’t he stop thinking about their red-hot one-night stand? 

Six months ago, one reckless night in Vegas ended with Erin in Brendan’s bed. She’s sworn off dating athletes, especially those whose reputations could destroy her new career as the Championship Soccer League’s Director of Ethics and Advocacy. But the secret they share — and the crazy heat they generate — makes it impossible to keep her distance.

Both have choices to make about the future, but no matter how steeply the odds are stacked against them, walking away could be the riskiest move of all.

This was such an interesting, engrossing story and I absolutely loved it.

It's the third in the series and my second by this author and I have come to love her complex characters and the unusual take on sports romance. In this case we have a goalkeeper at the end of his career, his reputation ruined by a gambling scandal. And the heroine is a former pro footballer player herself, trying to further her career in the Championship soccer League but also boost women's soccer as much as she can. The cicumstances put them in opposite ends, turning them into enemies but ones with burning memories of a hot one-night stand between them and a shared secret (they both love gambling). 

Brendan was an amazing character and loved him so much. He is a bit of a loner, hiding so much from everyone - teammates and family, so lonely despite his success. I found the way he dealt with his anxiety and compulsive thoughts through focusing on sports statistics and placing bets on games really fascinating. 

He was on his way out of the soccer world and and his focus was fully on the post-sports future, new life, different goals. All this made him reluctant to start anything with Erin despite the chemistry between them. I read him as on the ace spectrum, the one-night stand they had was an exception for him rather than the rule and he was really not comfortable with a friends-with-benefits arrangement. I felt he was not interested in sex unless there were some romantic feelings involved and they were they on his part from the start and he just wanted to avoid the hurt the inevitable break-up would cause him.

Erin, oh Erin was fabulous. She was the opposite of Brendan - outgoing, outspoken, more sexually adventurous than him, definitely the one doing the chase rather than being wooed. She came off as pushy at times which I didn't like very much but she did try to come up with a solution that would work for both of them and in the end she did in a way. 

Like Brendan she is a gambler, though of a different kind. For him this was a way to deal with his anxiety and hyperactive mind, while for her it was a way to decompress and deal with stress. In different ways they both needed gambling to survive teh current turmoil in their lives, it was an escape which while financially profitable for him was otherwise disastrous for both of them.

Brendan's outlook on his gambling was something I have not read before. I felt he got better hold of his anxiety issues and found some calm after getting together with Erin. In my reading it was finding the partner he had been looking for and generally moving towards a situation that caused him less stress that helped Brendan cut down on his obsession with soccer statistics and betting. At the same time I have this tiny bit of worry that it might be interpreted as a love-cures-all solution and would have liked a stronger statement to the opposite in the text. On the other hand, Erin starts therapy for her gambling addiction which brings some balance to the story and treats addiction as a serious issue which requires professional help to deal with.

On the plus side I liked how Brandon and Erin made things work between them, neither giving up their dream but finding a compromise - more travel, some adjustments to his and her plans for the future in order to make room for their plans.

There was a plot twist towards the end which I found unnecessary and annoying. The journalist threatening them and the sudden change in the attitude of her boss and the way he came through as a saviour for them both in the end didn't sit well with me. I felt it took away the agency from Brendan and Erin to solve their issues/determine their future on their own. 

Overall, I enjoyed this romance a lot. We get two complex characters working through their differences in order to be together, making compromises and finding common ground for their future which is one of my favourite things in romance. 

Title: Brooklynaire (Brooklyn Bruisers #4)

Author: Sarina Bowen

Genre: Sports romance, hockey, boss-assistant, tech billionaire

Release Date: 12 Feb 2018

Author's links:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Add to Goodreads

My rating: 4 Stars

Blurb

Blurb

In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold... 

Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.

Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast....

This is a spin-off series of The Ivy Years series on NA college/hockey romances which I absolutely love. This first instalment is about Leo Trevi who is DJ's brother (from The FifteenthMminute). It's a second chance/reunited lovers story and I very much enjoyed it.

I'm an avid reader of sport romances and this one of the best I've read lately. It has an easy flow to it, a nice balance between sports talks and the romance plotline. 

Both Georgia and Leo are well rounded, full fledged characters with their strengths and weaknesses which only make human and easy to relate to.

Their chemistry is undeniable and their love for each other is still there after 6 years apart, but they both needed some growing up in order to be able to be together after what happened to Georgia. They had to come clean to themselves and each other and act like adults in order to get their HEA.

As most of Ms Bowen's previous books, at the heart of this light-hearted and fun story we have a serious real-life issue portrayed with compassion and understanding. It's something that happened a while ago but has lasting effects on everyone in this story. 

Ms Bowen creates a great cast of supporting characters and I'm already looking for their stories in the next books in the series. I very much liked the way the team/friendship dynamics worked in this story, as well as family relationships portrayed in all their complexity.

Overall, this is a funny and heart-warming sports romance, a feel good read I can recommend to everyone.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks

Elle Kennedy: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

My rating: 4.5 Stars
Add on Goodreads

Synopsis

Review 

Title: The Hooker and the Hermit

Author: L.H. Cosway and Penny Reid

Genre/Themes: Contemproary romance / Sports

Release Date: 5 February 2015

Add to Goodreads

My rating: 3 Stars

Synopsis

THE HERMIT

Annie Catrel, social media expert extraordinaire at Davidson & Croft Media and clandestine celebrity blogger, can make anyone shine in the court of public opinion. She is the Socialmedialite, anonymous creator of New York’s Finest and the internet’s darling. Virtual reality is Annie’s forte, but actual reality? Not so much.

THE HOOKER

Ronan Fitzpatrick, aka the best hooker the world of rugby has seen in decades, despises the media—social or otherwise. The press has spun a web of lies depicting him as rugby’s wild and reckless bad boy. Suspended from his team, Ronan has come to Manhattan to escape the drama, lay low, fly under the radar. Only, Ronan isn’t easy to overlook, and he can’t escape the notice of the Socialmedialite…

THE PLAN

When Ronan is sent to Davidson & Croft Media to reshape his public image, he never expects to cross paths with shy but beautiful Annie, nor does he expect his fierce attraction to her. He couldn’t be happier when her boss suggests pairing them together. 

What lengths will Annie take to keep her virtual identity concealed? And what happens when the hooker discovers who the hermit really is?

My review

This is a very difficult review to write since I absolutely love Penny Reid's books and I'm a fan of L. H. Cosway's stories as well, but this book really didn't work for me. I was naturally excited when I heard they are teaming together to write a romance, a sports one at that, which I particularly enjoy.

The story is told from a dual POV of Annie and Ronan and even though I loved some aspects of it, there were a few things that bothered me and left me conflicted.

I quite liked Annie initially - she just as adorable in her unique and strangely awkward ways as Ms Reid's heroines from the Knitting in the City series which I have come to love so much. Annie is a contradiction in terms - shy and closed-off in real life and open and outgoing in her online persona. I was intrigued by her quirks and was curious how her character will develop throughout the story. 

On the other hand, I didn't like Ronan very much initially. He came on to Annie too strong embodying all the stalkerish, alpha male traits so popular in romance lately and which I hate so much. His invasion of her personal space especially during their initial meetings was totally unacceptable for me.

Their relationship went through many ups and downs and throughout the story the characters changed quite a bit. I got the like Ronan more, his past and his character made him more sympathetic. Still, the whole BDSM element came out of the blue for me and it was not a nice surprise. Annie also changed a lot and even though her opening to the world and her acceptance of her feelings for Ronan were part of her growth as a character, I felt she just became a different person overnight. Her quirkiness and hermit-like style was completely gone in the second half of the book.

The story had the trademark wittiness and humour typical for Ms Reid's work but it didn't flow as smoothly as her other works. I found the story employed one too many romantic cliches and elements that I personally don't enjoy in my romances. That is not to say that it's an inherently bad story or badly written, on the contrary, I feel it's good book, just not the right one for me.

In short, I found this book quite different from Ms Reid's previous ones. For me it lacked the off-beat, out-of-the-ordinary quality of her other works and felt much too similar to most popular romances today. I think this story may work better for fnas of hot sexy sports romance with a touch of BDSM.

Title: Falling from the Sky (Gravity #1)
Author: Sarina Bowen
Genre: Contemporary romance, sports
Release Date: 2 Feb 2015

Author's links:
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

My rating: 3.5 Stars
Add on Goodreads

Synopsis 

Review

I liked Hank and his journey from a superstar snowboarder to a person bound on wheelchair. His struggles to come to terms with happened to him and to move on and build a new life for himself were interesting to read.

The heroine, Callie, who is a doctor, was shy, focused on her work and really missing have someone in her life. Her attraction to Hank was pretty clear and even after his injure she saw him as desirable, someone she wanted to be. She acted somewhat childish and immature which I found annoying.

I felt the story lacked some depth, it dealt with serious issues (disability, professional ethics, etc.) but I wished we were given more insight into them instead of focusing mostly on Hank's attempts to get together with Callie and her fears and distrust.

The romance was slowgoing and felt real and intimate. There was some quietness and bit of predictablity to it but overall, it felt me feeling happy for the couple. 

The story had an easy flow to it, nice and pleasant but nothing really stood out. The conflict wasn't very strong and overall things were rather tame. I wanted more tension, a bit more raw emotion. I'd have loved to see Hank at  his darkest/lowest moments after the injury and the way he dealt with the irrevocable  changes in his life.

Still, it's a nice, uplifting story without being too sweet or too gritty, keeping a middle ground. I can recommend it to fans of sport romances. I'm curious about the other characters and plan on continuing with this series.

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / iBooks / Kobo

My reviews of other books by Sarina Bowen:
The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years #1) - 4.5 Stars
The Year We Hid Away (The Ivy Years #2) - 4 Stars
The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years #3) - 4 Stars

I discovered Sarina Bowen last year through her Ivy Years series which I restored my faith in the New Adult college romance and which I absolutely loved. Now Ms Bowen is re-releasing another romantic series - adult sport romances, the Gravity series. Check out the beatiful new covers and get ready for a snowy adventure!

Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iTunes

Synopsis

She's the woman he doesn't remember. He's the man she can't forget.

Bad boy Hank “Hazardous” Lazarus used to have everything: a gorgeous girlfriend, a career as a freestyle snowboarder and a spot on the US Olympic team. Nine months ago, after a bad crash in the half pipe, he woke up in the hospital, unable to move his legs. Now he’s landed there again, but gravity is not the culprit. With his family pressuring him to try a groundbreaking treatment, Hank self-medicates with too much tequila instead.

Doctor Callie Anders has the courage to restart a patient’s heart with a thousand volts of electricity, yet she’s afraid to risk her own. So she doesn’t confess to the clinic’s newest patient that they met just before the accident, an encounter that he doesn’t remember. Even as their friendship develops, she won’t admit she regrets turning down his dinner invitation, or that her heart stutters every time those inked shoulders roll through the door of the therapy department.

With another Vermont winter coming again, Hank needs a hand out from under the avalanche of his disappointments. If only Callie were brave enough to take the job.

“Hi,” Callie said softly. “I’m Doctor Anders. Or Callie, if you wish.”

“Callie,” he cleared his throat. “You look really familiar.”

That wasn’t what she had expected him to say. It would have been as good a time as any to mention that they’d met about ten minutes before his accident, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Who would want to be reminded of that afternoon? “I’ve been here all week,” she said instead. “But we don’t expect you to keep track of the dozens of people who prod you all day.”

“And all night,” he added.

She sat down on a stool next to his bed. “That’s my fault. I need to know that they’re looking at your vitals every three hours. It helps me sleep.” She winked, and was rewarded with half a smile. “Now, quick—before the room is invaded again by nurses’ assistants—how’s your pain? Is there anything you need?”

Hank lifted one hand to his face, and Callie was glad to see it. If his injury had happened farther up his spine, he wouldn’t have been able to do that. With his palm, Hank rubbed several days’ worth of whiskers, which only served to make him look more rugged, while he considered her question. “Let’s see…I need a full rack of Curtis’ ribs, with spicy sauce and a baked potato. And I need to get the hell out of this hospital.”

She nodded obligingly, even though she couldn’t fulfill any of those requests. But if he was talking about food and getting out of here, those were both good signs. “You’ll be transferring to a rehab facility soon.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. His gaze wandered again, his eyes aiming at the window.

“The rehab place will let you sleep through the night,” she said, keeping her voice light. “And you’ll have your own clothes. I hear the food is better, too.”

“Couldn’t really be worse,” he said, turning to face Callie again. His dark eyes locked onto hers, and Callie felt the moment stretch and take hold. He didn’t say anything more, but he didn’t have to. Silently, an understanding passed between them. It didn’t matter if the food got better. Hank Lazarus was in for a shitty time, truly the shittiest time of his life. The distance he’d come these past five days was a descent from the highest high to the lowest low. And there wasn’t a damned thing either of them could do about it.

“Hang in there,” Callie whispered. “This right here is the very worst part.”

He didn’t break their staring contest. “You promise?” he rumbled, his voice pure whiskey and smoke.

*** *** *** 

 

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